Woodside aims to play decisive role in sale of Chevron Australian LNG stake

Woodside Petroleum’s Chief Executive Peter Coleman said the Australian firm aims to play a decisive role in Chevron Corp’s plan to sell a stake in the North West Shelf (NWS) project, operated and co-owned by Woodside.

Chevron last week put its one-sixth stake up for sale in Australia’s oldest and biggest liquefied natural gas (LNG) project. Woodside has a pre-emptive right to match any offer for a stake in what Coleman called his firm’s crown jewel.

Speaking on Tuesday at Credit Suisse’s annual Australian energy conference, Coleman said it was unlikely any oil and gas company would bid for the stake, which analysts have estimated could fetch about $3 billion.

Instead, Coleman said, infrastructure players would be attracted as the NWS project’s gas fields are drying up and the associated LNG plant is going to become a facility that processes gas for third parties, charging a toll.

“If there’s a way we can participate in that and get a better outcome for Woodside, then we’ll be at the table to participate,” Coleman said.

Price would be the main factor in determining whether Woodside itself bids, Coleman said, without disclosing how much his firm would be prepared to pay.

“This has been the jewel in Woodside’s crown for a long period of time ... You don’t want your neighbours to put up a for sale sign and then you get the wrong people moving in next door,” he said. (Reporting by Sonali Paul; Editing by Kenneth Maxwell)

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